Celebrating the Impact of WEF Grants

$500
Submitted by Ryan Alexis, Music Teacher
Kilbourne Middle School

Funds provided personnel and administration three master classes taught by professional musicians from the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra for Kilbourne Middle School flute, clarinet and trumpet students. 

$1,800  
Submitted by Maria Gardner
Sutter Park Preschool
Preschoolers enjoyed gardening experiences throughout the school year with a combination of indoor and outdoor activities that promote healthy eating habits among our picky eaters and provide sensory exploration. The goal was to improve student participants’ communication skills, academics, self-regulation and social skills.

$1,400 
Submitted by Allison Kestner, Tori Lowman, Courtney Cavener, SCLC Team
Bluffsview Elementary School

This grant helped create a sensory room with equipment to students in the Structured Communication Learning Center (SCLC). The SCLC serves 18 students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in kindergarten through sixth grade. Students with ASD often display problematic behavior that is related to their inability to effectively process sensory information. The new equipment allowed kids to get their sensory needs met in safe and appropriate ways and return to learning with increased focus and relaxation to promote deeper cognitive development.

$1,500 
Submitted by Adrienne Carr, Dean
Thomas Worthington High School

People Using Raw Potential Optimizing Student Excellence (PURPOSE) is a group founded by a former TWHS student who saw the need to target students in need of self-esteem and self-development, usually those in the lowest 30 percent academically. Funds were used to build and implement a research-based, one-year program to equip students with hope and to teach skills for school success, self-reflection, and how to contribute to their community.

$4,300 
Submitted by Patrick Callaghan, Director of Elementary Education
Worthington City Schools

Inspired by the Columbus-based “Harmony Project,” this grant helped create a vehicle to develop academic support and life skills with underperforming students in grades 4 through 6 in all 11 elementary schools. Student participants will take on the role of character ambassadors in their schools to develop leadership. The program culminated with a public celebration including parents, teachers and invited community members through music and written student reflections. After the inaugural year, the program was supported by PTAs, local businesses, and the Elementary Education Department.

$4,300 
Submitted by Traci Funk, Tracy Ruffing, Megan Guyer, Andrea Jewett, Lizzie Perilman, Mandy Ballreich & Tina Swearengin
Granby Elementary School

These funds continue to improve the mental and physical health and well-being of all students while providing opportunities for real-world learning, problem solving, and critical thinking through hands-on experiences in an innovative outdoor classroom. The grant funded a part of a project to include a school garden, permanent shade structure, and outdoor seating. Teachers, students and families plant, maintain and harvest the garden through the school year and summer months.

$1,075 
Submitted by Susan Hrenko and Casey Goff, Intervention Specialists
Worthington Kilbourne HS

A school garden teaches students many life lessons including time management, teamwork, and responsibility. Students gain skills and understanding of how to plant, grow and harvest food. Principals, guidance counselors, and staff collaborate with families on the project.

$767 
Submitted by David Signet
Slate Hill Elementary School

Funds helped purchase Grade 5 Math Reads program, which provides support to classroom teachers by integrating children’s literature into math instruction. Connection to standards of mathematical practice and Common Core standards were provided. Books and corresponding lessons were used at the beginning and end of each unit to engage students and stimulate their imaginations. More than 70 fifth grade students and all math teachers in the building have access to this innovative approach to learning.

$2,187
Submitted by Catie Fisher, Lindsey Danhoff, Angela Evans, Teachers at Evening Street Elementary; Sara Dale and Sarah Tsung,  Julie Payne, Instructional Coach
Liberty Elementary

These grant funds sent two teachers to the Responsive Classroom Course and one to attend the advanced course. Attendees then provided professional development to their fellow teachers. The philosophy ensures the teaching and learning environments respond to the needs of the students both academically and in a social-emotional format. Following this model, teachers learned to be responsive to the needs of students rather than reactive.

$975 
Submitted by Joy Nieto and Jacob Reed, General Music
Worthingway Middle School

Funds helped purchase 13 ukuleles for general music class. This hands-on learning opportunity allows students to practice rhythm, melodic patterns, improvisation and compose/arrange music in the treble clef. Currently, students learn the basics of drums and piano keyboard, and now the ukuleles offer students exposure to a stringed instrument.

$2,806 
Submitted by Kelly Marshall and Jill Zingery, Training Specialist and Job Training Consultant
TWHS and WKHS

This grant expanded on a program previously supported by the WEF. CVS donated shelving, signage, training materials and products to create a mock store to be housed at Worthington Academy. The project enhances student work experiences while participating in transition courses designed to prepare students with disabilities for supported or competitive employment during or after high school. 

$500 
Submitted by Jacob Reed, Music Educator and Tricia Merenda, ELA Coordinator
TWHS

This was an interdisciplinary collaboration between students, a poet, a teacher/composer, and the McConnell Arts Center. The poet visited creative writing classes to engage students in a poetry analysis. The composer made new music for three poems which were premiered by a guest soprano at a concert open to the public. Students broadened their understanding of the creative process and enhanced their communication and public expression skills.

$3,750 
Submitted by Arin Kress
Worthington Estates Elementary School

This project was aimed at increasing student comprehension and focus by allowing students the opportunity to walk while learning an academic lesson via a podcast. Lessons are geared toward literacy, science, health and social studies and meet the Common Core standards. The lessons last about 15 minutes each, and students participate in a discussion after each lesson. 

$500 
Submitted by James Canterbury, Mary Spencer, Kevin Swabb and Joy Nieto
Worthingway Middle School

Water streams help with a conceptual understanding of how rivers behave, including water-induced and topsoil erosion. Eight Hubbard Scientific Stream Table kits were purchased with this grant, and the school’s science budget was used to buy sand, clay, topsoil and other materials to support inquiry into the behavior of water. The hands-on learning took place in small lab groups.

$375 
Submitted by Natalie Fei
Worthingway Middle School

Worthingway Middle School has a diverse student population with more than 40 percent of students identifying as part of one or more minority group. There can be challenges in working effectively with a more diverse student population due to our implicit biases, or our unconscious reactions and judgments of different people. The Kirwan Institute at The Ohio State University is the leading research agency on how our unconscious biases shape our beliefs, attitudes and behavior. Through their training, the Kirwan Institute teaches how our minds operate, how these biases affect us in the real world, and how we can guard ourselves against our own biases. The entire school staff benefitted from this training.

$3,050 
Submitted by Cathy Eggleston of McCord Middle School on behalf of all School Counselors

The Worthington School Counselors K-12 bring relevant and informative presentations to our parents and community to help them feel supported and connected to our schools. The Gestalt Institute of Central Ohio present to parents, teachers and school counselors district wide via a series of three topics including the importance of letting children struggle, relationship skills, and anxiety/helping children cope with stress.